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Hans-Beck Decision
Research Studies Request Form
Expend dues money for political purposes
Bloods And Crips Arrested In NYC
History of Privatization
Proposed Prison Blends into Rural Landscape
Inmate indicted in attack on nurse
Guard fires warning shot at Great Meadows CF
Mid Hudson Mtg. - QWL Downstate 10/9/97
PERB / CORNELL ILRS TAYLOR LAW SEMINAR
Special grand jury would investigate gangs
Mandatory testing if staff are exposed
Closer Review of Prison Plan Urged
Error in dental coverage
Some Bills to look at
Privatization Theory
Nationwide gang linked to crimes in region
Victim Information & Notification
McCall Retirement Proposal(9/16/97)
Southport Officers Assualted (10/31/97)
"PRISON VIOLENCE BLAMED ON GANGS"
Eastern inmate hangs self

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Hans-Beck Decision
Machinists v. Street
Machinists v. Street was originally brought in the state courts of Georgia. The union security agreement
was between the International Association of Machinists and a group of carriers called the Southern
Railway System. The dissenting workers were forced to pay 100 percent of the regular union dues as a
condition of continued employment. They presented a carefully documented record that proved that a
"substantial part" of the union dues exacted from them was used to pay for partisan political activities.
They asked to have the whole union security agreement thrown out on constitutional grounds. The trial
court and the Georgia Supreme Court agreed with the complaining workers. The 1961 U.S. Supreme
Court decision was written by Justice Brennan, who would also write the Beck decision 27 years later.
The union argued that the Court had cleared union security agreements in the Hanson case, so the
dissenting work ers had no case. The Court, however, did not buy that argument in its entirety: [A]ll that
was held in Hanson was that Section 2, Eleventh was constitutional in its bare authorization of
union-shop contracts requiring workers to give "financial support" to unions legally authorized to act as
their collective bargaining agents. We sustained this requirement --and only this requirement. . . .
Clearly we passed neither upon forced association in any other aspect nor upon the issue of the exacted
money for political causes which were opposed by the employees.(24) Hanson had allowed forced dues
to be used for Box 3 (collective-bargaining) expenditures of the taxonomy of expendi tures set forth
above and suggested that there might be difficulties associated with using forced dues for Box 2 (political
advocacy) expenditures. "Forced association in any other aspect" could be interpreted to refer to
expenditures in the other two boxes, but the Court did not analyze such expenditures in either Hanson or
Street. The Street Court agreed with the dissenting workers that using exacted money for political
purposes raised constitutional "questions of the utmost gravity," but it also reiterated its long-standing
position that "Federal statutes are to be so construed as to avoid serious doubt of their
constitutionality."(25) If Section 2, Eleventh could be interpreted, on its own terms, as forbidding unions
to use money exacted from dissenting workers for political purposes, the First Amendment questions of
free speech and association would not have to be addressed. The constitutional questions would have to
be faced only if Section 2, Eleventh permitted forced dues to be used for politics. After reviewing the
history of union security in the railroad industry and the legislative history of the RLA, especially
Section 2, Eleventh, the Court did indeed interpret that section narrowly to permit the exaction of forced
dues from dissenting workers only for the limited purpose of avoiding the free-rider problem. The only
justification of union security advanced by the unions and by Congress was the capture of free riders. In
the words of the Court:
The conclusion to which this history clearly points is that Section 2, Eleventh contemplated compulsory
unionism to force employees to share the costs of negotiating and administering collec tive agreements,
and the costs of the adjustment and settlement of disputes. One looks in vain for any suggestion that
Congress also meant in Section 2, Eleventh to provide the unions with a means for forcing employees,
over their objection, to sup port political causes which they oppose.(26) . . . Congress did not completely
abandon the policy of full freedom of choice in the [RLA prior to the 1951 amendments], but rather
made inroads on it for the limited purpose of eliminating the problems created by the "free rider."(27)
Thus, the Court bought the unions' free-rider argument in support of forced dues, but it did so very
narrowly. The free rider of concern is one who gets the benefits of the collective-bargaining services of
an exclusive representative and otherwise would escape paying for such benefits. According to the Court,

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forced dues, at least under the RLA, are not authorized on any other grounds. The Court did not grant the
dissenting workers every thing they had asked for. The union security agreement at issue was not
declared unconstitutional. It could stand as long as the forced dues were used for collective-bargaining
purposes, not for political purposes. How about Box 1 and Box 4 activities of unions? Are forced dues
for Box 1 ac tivities permitted because they are for collective bargain ing or prohibited because they are
for political purposes? Are forced dues for Box 4 activities permitted because they are not for political
purposes or prohibited because they are not for collective bargaining?
The Court demurred:
We have before us only the question whether the power [to expend forced dues] is restricted to the extent
of denying the unions the right, over the employee's objection, to use his money to support political
causes which he opposes. . . . We express no view as to other union expenditures objected to by an
employee and not made to meet the costs of negotiation and administration of collective agreements, or
the adjustment and settlement of grievances and disputes. . . . We do not understand . . . that there is
before us the matter of expenditures for activities in the area between the costs which led directly to the
complaint as to "free riders," and the expenditures to support union political activities.(28) It was not
until 1984, in the Ellis case, that such expenditures would be examined by the Court. The majority
opinion in Street concluded by giving some suggestions and guidelines for an "appropriate remedy" for
the political use of forced dues. Unions were to be permitted to collect full union dues from workers who
did not object to the unions' political activities, and they were to be permitted to collect dues for
collective-bargaining pur poses from dissenting workers. But forced dues would have to be less than
regular dues. The union could not collect full dues from dissenters and then use all those forced dues for
collective-bargaining purposes. That would permit the union to use for political purposes more of the
dues collected from voluntary payers than it otherwise could have. In effect, the dissenters would still be
subsidizing political expenditures. The Court suggested that one possible remedy would be restitution to
each individual employee of that portion of his money which the union expended, despite his
notification, for the political causes to which he had advised the union he was opposed. . . . [T]he portion
of his money the employee would be entitled to recover would be in the same proportion that the
expenditures for political purposes which he had advised the union he disapproved bore to the total union
budget.(29) Three points in the Court's suggestions for remedy played a role in subsequent cases. First,
each individual dissenter had to file a complaint referring to specific political expenditures to which he
objected. No class action was possible. Moreover, a worker could not opt out of all political expenditures
as a general category. He had to object to specific political expenditures. Second, a rebate scheme was all
right. That is, a union could exact full union dues and then later give a refund to any individual dissenter.
There was no mention of interest to be paid on the refunded money. Third, the amount of the refund
could be determined by a percentage reduction formula based on thepercentage of the total union budget
that was spent for political purposes. The problems surrounding the first point were partially addressed in
Railway Clerks v. Allen (1963). There the Court loosened the Street constraint on dissenters by
permitting them to "opt out" of all political expenditures. They no longer had to object to specific
political expenditures, but dissenters still had to object as individuals, not as a class. The Allen Court also
suggested that initial reduction of dues rather than a rebate scheme would be an appropriate remedy. That
was only a suggestion, however, and most unions ignored it. The third point in the suggested remedy in
Street proved especially important to future cases. Although the Court said that forced dues could be
used only for collective-bargaining purposes, its suggested remedy did not require a union to defend the
expenditures it labeled as collective-bargaining expenditures. The base line was not zero forced dues to

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which could be added proven collective-bargaining expenditures. Rather, the base line was full union
dues from which could be subtracted expenditures that the union admitted were for political
purposes.(30) Moreover, the unions themselves got to define all the terms and construct all the
procedures within the Court's broad guidelines. Justice Black vigorously dissented in Street. In his view
the Court had to strain to define Section 2, Eleventh narrowly to permit the use of forced dues only for
collective-bargaining purposes. He thought the Court should have decided the case purely on First
Amendment grounds. The union security agreement in dispute should have been disallowed in its
entirety because it was tainted by political uses of forced dues. He thought that a narrow statute that
explicitly limited the use of forced dues to collectivebargaining purposes would pass constitutional
muster because the government's interest in maintaining industrial peace was sufficiently strong to justify
the limited infringement of First Amendment rights for that purpose. However, he opined that in practice
the accounting burdens involved in separating permissible from impermissible uses should result in
unions' deciding to devote all dues collected under union security agreements to collective-bargaining
purposes. In expressing his views on the First Amendment, Justice Black quoted James Madison and
Thomas Jefferson. If [using forced dues for politics] is constitutional the First Amendment is not the
charter of political and religious liberties its sponsors believed it to be. James Madison, who wrote the
Amendment, said . . . that "the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of
his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other
establishment in all cases whatsoever." And Thomas Jefferson said that "to compel a man to furnish
contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical."
These views of Madison and Jefferson authentically represent the philosophy embodied in the safeguards
of the First Amendment.(31)
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Research Studies Request Form

New York State Department of Correctional Services Research Studies Request Form
Please use the attached checklist to request copies and mail it to:
Elizabeth Langevin
Program Planning, Research & Evaluation
New York State Department of Correctional Services
Building #2
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12226-2050
_____ 1. The Ninth Annual Shock Incarceration Program Legislative Report:1997
_____ 2. NYS DOCS Shock Incarceration 1997 Legislative Report - Summary
_____ 3. Semi-Annual Legislative Report on Earned Eligibility Program:April 1996 -September 1996
_____ 4. Semi-Annual Legislative Report on Earned Eligibility Program:October 1996 -March 1997
_____ 5. Comprehensive Alcohol & Substance Abuse Treatment Program (CASAT):1996
_____ 6. Psychological Screening Program for Correction Officer Applicants:1996

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_____ 7. 1992 Releases: Three Year Post Release Follow-Up

_____ 8. Stay'N-Out - A Program Study - 1996
_____ 9. HUB System: Profile of Inmate Population Undercustody on January 1,1997
_____10. Admissions and Releases - 1996
_____11. Characteristics of New Court Commitments - 1995
_____12. Summary of Characteristics of New Court Commitments - 1995
_____13. Characteristics of Inmates Discharged - 1995
_____14. Unusual Incident Report: 1996 Calendar Year
_____15. Inmate Escape Incidents 1992-1996
_____16. Summary of OCA Felony Processing 1995-1996
_____17. New York State Felony Processing - January-December 1996
_____18. Parole Board Dispositions at DOCS Facilities - 1996
_____19. Identified Substance Abusers - December 1996
_____20. Willard Drug Treatment Campus Update - April 1997
_____21. The Impact of Foreign-Born Inmates on the NYS Dept. Of Correctional Services
_____22. Elderly Inmate Profile 1985 and 1995
_____23. Long-Term Inmates - 1996
_____24. Annotated Listing of Department of Correctional Services' Research on Female Commitments
_____25. Female Offenders
_____26. JTPA Summer Youth Employment Program: 1996
_____27. Patients at Central New York Psychiatric Center Discharged from the NYS DOCS
_____28. Incident of Tuberculosis Infection Among New York State Prison Employees -December 1996
_____29. Vocational Programs: Description and Exploratory Study - May 1997
NAME __________________________________________________
ADDRESS _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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Expend dues money for political purposes

The following e-mail was sent to various US Senators re: Campaign Finance Reform & AFSCME:
Sir,
I watched C-Span 10/7/97 and I cannot believe that you would not accept Sen. Lott's ammendment on
Labor Unions, thereby killing Campaign Reform Legislation.
I cannot comprehend why you think it is wrong for the Unions to FIRST get permission from a member
to expend dues money for political purposes. Let me explain what currently takes place and then, perhaps
you will understand why I feel that the Unions should get the permission FIRST.
I work for New York State. I am a member of Council 82, AFSCME. In 1995 AFSCME expended funds
from my dues for partisan political purposes. As it happens I did not agree with the purposes which they
expended it for. In April 1996, AFSCME told us that we had 15 days to request in writing, via
"CERTIFIED MAIL" a refund of our individual dues expended for the political purposes. We had until
4/15/96 to make that request. I received my refund AFTER election day around, 11/15/96. It was for
under $15. Accompanying the check was a letter which said that the amount was determined by the
Treasurer, I called and asked for a written explanation of this determination but was told there was none
available.
AFSCME takes my dues directly from my paycheck, at no cost to them, but when I sought a refund I had
to expend over $2.00 in postage, at my expense to request it.
It took AFSCME over 11 months to return the political portion of the dues. While they held on to this
money it was used for purposes that I don't approve of, and it earned interest for AFSCME.
Plain and simple THIS IS NOT FAIR. They start taking and using the money in January of 1995, for
non-union related causes which I don't approve of, and then they don't return it until Nov. 1996 22
months later!! In a free society how can this be?
Lest you think that this was a mistake or an uncommon error, I am still waiting for my refund for partisan
political activity from my union dues from 1996. I again had to pay "CERTIFIED Mail" postage in April.
It is mid- October 1997.
This is why I urge you to support Sen. Lott's ammendment which, as I understand it, would cause the
union to get my OK before using my dues for partisan political activities. It seems to me, based on the
arrogance of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in their
inept and deliberatly slow compliance with the Beck decision, this is the ONLY way that they will acted
in a proper and fair manner to we the members.
Finally let me leave you with a quote: Thomas Jefferson said that "to compel a man to furnish
contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical."
Thank You.
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Bloods And Crips Arrested In NYC

By Newsradio 88 Staff
Cops say they've busted more than a hundred members of the "Bloods" and rival "Crips" gang in an
sweep called "Operation Red Bandanna," named for the red bandanna many Bloods wear, reports WCBS'
Dave Browde.
Police moved on word that the Bloods were moving into New York in greater numbers, recruiting
members in prison and on the street.
Authorities say the gang made their money on narcotics, and were becoming increasingly violent.
They made a total of 265 arrests -- 167 are gang members, police say
Police say the gang initiated new members by having them slash someone at random with a box cutter,
and 135 such slashings are now considered solved.
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History of Privatization
The term "Privatization" was originally first used by N.Y. Governor Seward who I might add was from
Auburn, N.Y. Around 1800's he composed magnificent writings about the subject and simply concluded
that it was evil in it's nature and nothing more than legalized slavery and tyranny against it's own people.
His writings are well documented and you will see in the future exactly what I am implying by this. It is
ironic that privatization started in Auburn N.Y. and will die in Auburn, N.Y. It goes back to the old
addage "History Repeats Itself".
Now in our modern age the Southern Dixie Republicans who call themselves conservative republicans
resurrected the idea of privatization, started and led by Newt Gingrich. Well Newts Idea got him in much
trouble in that he will be shortly replaced with Bill Paxon who will be the new Speaker Of The House. A
couple of months back Paxon had resigned as the #2 man in control of the republican party because he
realized that these Dixie Republicans were absolutely out of Control, however he will now be brought
back in as the new Speaker of the Republican Party and this is nothing more than a godsend to the ailing
party.
When a conservative dixie republicans don't like what truths they read, their typical response that comes
out is "You are a liberal" This ideology has been entrenched by the Newt Gingriches and has resulted in
nothing more than big "L's" being tattoed to their forheads designating them as BIG TIME LOOSERS.
For you to imply that I am a liberal because I want to protect your brothers, wife, children, cousins, and
your own job I can't accept that. I am and have been an elected State Of New York Conservative
Committee Person for the conservative party and when these dixie republicans who masquerade
themselves as a faction of the so-called registered conservative party attempted to solicit the voters in my
area to have some dixie republican/conservative run against me you know what almost every voter said
in this district said, "We support Tom he is unbeatable, best for our interests, and would not support
anyother candidate". Then these party people walked out of the district with their heads down and a big
"L"for Looser on their heads. Why can't I be defeated because I don't support myself I support the people

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I represent.
Furthermore, I have been asked repeatedly for four years now to run against my district county legislator
who might add is a doctor on the street and also services 3 of our state prisons and I have flat out refused.
I explained to those that continually request me to run that there is too much corruption in our county
legislature and that for me to run and benefit the voters I would need a few other good men (that don't
take criticism as being at war as a military servicemen, because if criticism is an attack obviously you
saw no real action, as a real attack provokes a lifetime of nightmares) so we could secure some power in
order to pass provisions which benefit the taxpayers of this district. I honestly care about people, it is my
nature not cutting deals that do not benefit the majority of constituents. I could not sleep at night as many
politicans do knowing I would have compromised my beliefs, values, and priciples for the sake of some
corrupt politician or party. Well enough said I must go and rake stone for 5 or so hours as I have for the
past two weeks.
Tom Short
Cayuga CF
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Times Herald Record

October 10,1997

Proposed Prison Blends into Rural Landscape

Albany (AP)- Missing are the massive light towers and water tanks of typical state prisons. In their place
will be landscaping that hides the razor wire and the smaller buildings that won't obstruct the mountain
views.
The state Department of Correctional Services is making concessions to the Adirondack wilderness in its
plans, unveiled yesterday, to build a new prison in Tupper Lake.
The maximum-security facility, which would occupy 76 acres of Adirondack land just north of the
village of Tupper Lake, will house 1,500 inmates and cost $130 million, according to Corrections
Commissioner Glenn Goord. It will bring an estimated 367 jobs to the area.
Unlike most prisons, there will be no need for 60-foot-tall light towers to illuminate evening recreation
yards because maximum-security inmates are only allowed out of their cells one hour per day. The water
tank will be built close to the ground to keep it hidden behind trees, Goord said.
Details about the proposed prison were included in a filing state prison officials made before the
Adirondack Park Agency yesterday. The agency, which regulates land-use issues in the Adirondack Park,
must authorize the project.
The Adirondack Council accused the state of trying to steamroll the project through the Adirondack Park
Agency to start building as quickly as possible. Prison officials want to put the prison construction
project out for contractors bids in January.
"The site selection process is a sham," said Adirondack Council staff attorney Bernard Melewski. "There
seems to be no activity on their part to look outside the park for a site."

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Prisons spokesman James Flateau said the state Legislature mandated that the new prison be built near
Tupper Lake, which is 25 miles west of Lake Placid.
Goord said he ordered his staff to begin a review next week of six other sites, outside the boundaries of
the park, in case the APA does not approve the Tupper Lake plan.
Bill Curran, director of regulatory reforms for the Adironack Park Agency, said that while more
information would be needed for a better agency assessment of the proposed prison, it appeared the
buildings would not disturb nearby wetlands.
"In the Adirondack Park it's difficult to find relatively flat sites that don't involve significant amounts of
wetlands," Curran said.
Curran said the state's plans were received yesterday morning, and were quickly incorporated into the
agency's committee meeting later in the day. Curran said he recommended that the chairman of the
agency or one of the directors handle review of the project, and that a public hearing be held on the
proposal.
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Inmate indicted in attack on nurse

By Don Lehman
Staff Writer
FORT EDWARD -- A state prison inmate who allegedly stripped naked and attacked a nurse at a prison
in Comstock has been indicted on attempted murder and attempted rape charges.
Daryl B. Wood, 20, of New York City, faces five felony charges in the indictment handed up Wednesday
in Washington County Court.
Authorities said Wood attacked a 48-year-old female nurse at medium-security Washington Correctional
Facility Sept. 28.
He hid in a women's bathroom at the prison's infirmary, took his clothes off and grabbed the woman from
behind, choking her and repeatedly slamming her head into a sink and wall, authorities said.
She managed to fight her attacker off and escape with just minor injuries. She has not yet returned to
work, Washington Superintendent John Malloy said.
Wood, who is serving a 6- to 18-year sentence for rape, was initially charged with a single felony assault
count.
But Washington County District Attorney Robert M. Winn said the grand jury believed Wood was trying
to kill the nurse, whose name hasn't been released.
" I believe it too," Winn said Wednesday. " She felt her life was in jeopardy."
Wood had gone to the infirmary that morning to receive results of a tuberculosis test. Afterward, he
slipped into the bathroom unbeknownst to prison staff, officials said.

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Officials with the union that represents state prison guards questioned whether staffing in the area was
appropriate. James McCabe, president of Local 3046 of Council 82, the guards' union, said two officers
were supposed to be stationed in the area, but one had been assigned elsewhere.
McCabe said Wednesday no changes had been made since the attack. Malloy said officials are "
reviewing internal movement" and " may be reviewing internal distribution of staff."
McCabe said union officials hope to meet with prison administration to discuss the issue later this month.
No arraignment date has been set for Wood, who was transferred to maximum-security Clinton
Correctional Facility after the attack. He'll also face prison disciplinary proceedings in addition to
criminal prosecution.
He could face up to 25 additional years in prison on the attempted murder charge, and 15 additional years
for attempted rape. In addition to those two counts, he faces two felony assault charges and an unlawful
imprisonment count.
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Warning shot fired during prison yard fight

Staff Report
COMSTOCK -- A brawl at the Great Meadow state prison Wednesday prompted prison officials to bring
in extra officers as a security measure, officials said.
No inmates or guards were injured in the fight, which involved 48 inmates, some with weapons, and
required an officer to fire a warning shot to stop it, prison officials said.
Robert Lawson, a spokesman for Council 82, the union representing corrections officers, said he believes
the fight -- and a smaller one earlier in the day -- were gang-related.
But James B. Flateau, spokesman for the state Department of Correctional Services, said an investigation
has not been completed, adding that attributing the prison disturbance to gangs is " irresponsible opinion"
at this point.
The major fight began about 1:50 p.m. in the general prison recreation area known as the " big yard,"
which contained about 300 inmates, Flateau said.
Two inmates displayed weapons and ignored verbal commands from guards to stop fighting. Then,
another 46 inmates, some brandishing weapons, joined in the fight, Flateau said.
To prevent the fight from escalating further and jeopardizing other inmates and the six guards in the yard,
a guard in a tower fired a rifle shot into a safe area near the scene of the disturbance, Flateau said.
When the shot was fired, the inmates complied with orders to lay down. As they were being rounded up,
one inmate kicked a guard, Flateau said.
The 252 inmates who were in the yard at the time of the fight but did not participate in it were escorted
back to their cells. The two initial combatants were taken to the prison infirmary, where they were treated
for minor injuries, Flateau said.

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The other 46 inmates were placed in restraints and escorted from the yard into a processing area at the
facility to be searched for weapons and examined for injuries.
Off-duty guards were brought in as a precautionary measure, Flateau said.
Lawson said officers confiscated several handmade weapons, including plexiglass shanks, a broken cane
and hard-backed razors, which are blades inserted into something solid, such as a toothbrush.
Lawson said he was told by guards that the two incidents were gang-related, a problem he said is
growing in the state's prisons.
" We've been having increasing problems with prison gangs, even though the (corrections) department
likes to say they don't exist," he said. " It is becoming a problem at virtually every prison in New York
state."
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Mid Hudson Mtg. - QWL Downstate 10/9/97

For those of us not at this meeting, please give us a comprehensive account of the meeting.
Actually the meeting focused on PAC, Public relations, and L/M for statewide. An upgrade is a major
issue for all of us and the word that I have been getting is positve from all sources. The one fear that I
have is that they will somehow try to tie it to our contract. The question that may be brought to the
members is; "Would you be willing to take a zero for the step upgrade?". Watch for it, I think it will be
coming :-(.
The questions on PAC were the same as we are seeing here, more concern for how and who the monies
will be spent than what was added to the dues. I think the vast majority understand the importance of
why the money is needed. A MAJOR topic concerning PAC was how to get the members to sign a voter
registration card. A lot of good ideas came out and I am sure some will be implemented. The only
problem I have is that we have to BRIBE and BEG our members to fill out the voter registration cards!!!
This should not be the case with something of this importance!! With the current political atmosphere,
our members should be flocking to the cards!!
We are going to try to get a statewide L/M going. I will be calling the other Regional Chairs to get to
their meetings to get an overall view of the issues. We are also getting input as to HOW this L/M should
be done, and so far a conference type meeting is supported (i would prefer this too). The issues so far are
also the same as you have seen here, gangs, weights, safety, health, and so on. We want to concentrate on
the more pressing with assistance from local leaders to present them in a two or three day meeting. This
will cost Correction Policy plenty, but what good is the money if we don't use it to help us????? Also I
won't be going to hear "I'll get back to you from the Commissioner", when we go in together, we will
leave together!!! If they send Bartlett, he'll be sitting by himself!!! Just another point, nothing will be
signed unless the majority agrees!!!!
John Butler
Correction Policy Chairman
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PERB / CORNELL ILRS TAYLOR LAW SEMINAR

The Public Employment Relations Board and Cornell University, New York State School of Industrial
and Labor Relations presents programs on: The Taylor Law and Its Administration Program Location
and Sessons:
November 5
Binghamton
Holiday Inn Arena
2 Hawley Street.
December 2
New York City
Cornell Conference Center
16 East 34th Street, 6th Floor.
The cost is $100.00 per person For more information and regisration form call (607) 255-4423
Looks like it will be an interesting program and a good place to make contacts for information!!
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Special grand jury would investigate gangs

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuter) - A New York prosecutor, alarmed by a surge of attacks by Bloods gang
members that mimic the violence of their notorious Los Angeles counterparts, Tuesday said a special
grand jury would investigate gangs in Brooklyn.
Police believe that the Bloods, which emerged two decades ago in the poor black neighborhoods of
Compton, California, and Watts in Los Angeles, have recruited members in New York jails who in turn
are now coaxing more young people into the gangs.
Authorities have reported an increase in slashings, stabbings and sexual abuse that appear to be Bloods
initiation rites, some of them allegedly perpetrated by high school students.
``We will not tolerate these mindless acts of terror,'' said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, who
announced that his office was empaneling the grand jury to weed out members of the Bloods and other
criminal gangs.
Hynes said he would start issuing subpoenas Thursday for gang members currently serving jail sentences
to begin testifying about gang activity. He said the inmates could have four years added to their jail terms
if they refused to testify or seven years added if they were found to have testified falsely.
Hynes also announced the indictment of three Bloods members who are accused of the attempted murder
of a 20-year-old woman in Brooklyn Sept 28. The woman was held captive for nine hours, slashed in the
throat, stabbed in the head and sexually abused.
The Bloods are suspected in more than 130 random slashings with box-cutters on city streets and
subways in recent months. In September New York police arrested 167 suspected gang members in a

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citywide crackdown.
The announcement by Hynes to pursue suspected gang members and prosecute gang violence more
vigorously coincided with a report on an investigation into the Latin Kings gang and other gangs in New
York City schools.
The report by special commissioner of investigation Edward Stancik cited a lack of uniform policy by
school authorities and said ``some school administrators have conceded some portion of their control of
the school to violent gangs.''
Among the recommendations the report made to city education authorities were a ``no tolerance
approach'' to gangs in schools and the removal of gang-related graffiti from school buildings. It also
urged school officials not to meet gang members to mediate disputes.
``Our investigation revealed that violent street gangs, including the Latin Kings, are a dangerous
presence in New York City's schools, and that this problem must be addressed swiftly,'' the report said.
In one incident at a Manhattan high school, authorities were investigating the possibility that the sexual
assault of a 13-year-old girl reported Monday was a Bloods initiation rite. Police said the girl was taken
into a boys' bathroom by two other girls a week ago and forced to perform a sexual act on three male
students. Three are being held on charges of sodomy.
Back to the Titles

Mandatory testing if staff are exposed to any blood or other

transmissable sources for H.I.V. ect.
I'd like everyone of you out there to take five minutes of your time to respond to the printed information
below. If a bill were presented by either the assembly or the senate like what is written below would
Everyone that works in Corrections support this, and think this was a good bill or bad bill, and would it
provide some security to us as Officers and staff knowing that inmates would have to have mandatory
testing if staff are exposed to any blood or other transmissable sources for H.I.V. ect. If a person put a
bill out like this could we say he might be looking out for us and our families to because transmissable
diseases can do just that be transmitted to others like our families, wifes, children ect. Please respond I
realize it may be a little long but please read it your life may depend on it.
Add SS71-a - 71-d, Cor L; add S2785-b, Pub Health L
Provides for testing of inmates and respondents for transmissible diseases in certain cases where an
employee of a correctional facility or juvenile detention facility may have been exposed to HIV.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL: The bill conforms with the AIDS Advisory Council`s principles on HIV
testing and is based upon CPL 390.15. in the interests of public health, the bill provides fortesting of
inmates for transmissible diseases where an employee of a correctional facility has been exposed to
blood or significant risk body substances of an inmate through medically recognized circumstances
which constitute significant risk and wherethe testing would provide the employee medically beneficial
information which can affect a pending decision to begin, continue, or discontinue medical intervention.
It is intended that this shall be accomplished without jeopardizing the confidentiality of the suspected
inmate`s medical condition.

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The bill also provides for a training and education component for employees subject to occupational
exposure as directed by the CDC.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: The bill amends the correction law by adding four new
sections providing for testing of inmates in certain cases,, employee training, post exposure evaluation
and vaccination and screening. The bill provides for the testing of inmates for transmissible diseases in
correctional or local correctional facilities, and hospitals. if there is an employee of a facility who has
been exposed to blood or significant risk body substances of an inmate through medically recognized
circumstances which would constitute a significant risk of transmittingor contracting a transmissible
disease which would place such employee at risk of contracting a transmissible disease, the local court of
jurisdiction must, upon written request of the employee, order that the inmate to submit to testing for the
presence of such disease provided that such inmate has been offered counseling and voluntary testing and
the testing shall be the only means by which the employee will receive medically beneficial information
which can affect a pending decision to begin, continue, or discontinue medical intervention and the
decision can not be made based upon the test result of the employee.
The testing shall be conducted by a state, county or local health officer designated by the court order.
Test results, which shall not be disclosed to the court, shall be communicated to the inmate or respondent
and to the employee in accordance with the provisions of S 2785-b of the public health law. Counseling
or referrals for counseling will be provided to the inmate and the employee.
The court shall hold a hearing on the request where there is question as to whether circumstances existed
which constitute an exposure to blood or significant risk body substance of the inmate who is being
ordered to submit to testing and whether testing of the inmate shall be the only means by which such
employee can obtainmedically beneficial information which can affect a pending decision to begin,
continue, or discontinue medical intervention, a test of the inmate could reasonably affect the decision
and the decision can not be made based on the test result of the employee.
Such an employee of a facility may direct a request to the commissioner or sheriff for a transmissible
disease test to determine his/her status. Such official shall authorize the employee to undergo prompt,
scientifically recognized laboratory testing including polymerase chain reaction or other advanced testing
technologies forthe diagnosis of transmissible diseases. Section 2 of the bill amends the public health law
by adding a new section 2785-b which sets forth the administration of testing of inmates or respondents
by state, county or local public health officers who will immediately provide to the issuing local court a
written report specifying the date the test was completed. The report shall not disclose the results of such
test. The results of such test shall only be revealed to the person tested and the employee unless the
person tested declines the information. At the time of communicating the results to the inmate or
respondent and the employee, the public health officer shall in conjunction with DOCS, office of mental
health or a local correctional facility provide counselling referrals.
The bill also provides for employee education and training on bloodborne pathogens and tuberculosis and
protocols on screening post exposure evaluation as put forth by the Centers for Disease Control.
JUSTIFICATION:
While performing their difficult and unique duties in various confinement settings, employees at
correctional facilities and forensic hospitals are often at risk of coming into contact with persons who
engage in conduct which is likely to expose them to transmissible diseases. Indeed, circumstances have

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arisen which have resulted in the exposure of an employee to an inmate`s or respondent`s blood or bodily
fluid in a manner that may have involved the transmission of HIV or other diseases from the offender to
the employee.
Presently, when an employee suspects exposure to a transmissible disease, he or she must submit to a
strict testing regime to determine whether he/she has contracted a serious disease. Because reaction to
these diseases is often slow to register, employee testing at various intervals will not always provide the
necessary information for such employees to assess risk of transmission. Furthermore, this response will
not allow the worker and his/her family to determine if he/she should avail himself/herself of the new
prophylactic treatments which can prevent the development of full-blown diseases.
Where there is a rational basis, testing of inmates and respondents at an appropriate time will provide
employees with information quickly, thereby enabling the employee and his/her family to promptly
explore and consider all available options in a fair and reasonable manner.
Back to the Titles

Closer Review of Prison Plan Urged

Three groups question the speed at which a state application for a prison in Tupper Lake is making its
way through the system.
Published Oct. 15, 1997, in The Post-Standard.
"This is the weakest application for a major project we have ever seen in the Adirondacks. And yet the
APA acted within 10 minutes to advance the application."
TIMOTHY BURKE
Adirondack Council
ALBANY (AP) - Three environmental groups charged Tuesday that the Adirondack Park Agency is
cutting corners in its review of a planned maximum-security prison in the Adirondacks.
The Adirondack Council, Sierra Club and Adirondack Mountain Club called on the APA to stop
processing the state's application to build a prison in Tupper Lake until an environmental study can be
done on the proposal and public hearings are held.
"There seems to be a great weight and a great amount of power behind this steamroller, and it's moving
very quickly," Timothy Burke, Adirondack Council executive director, said.
The groups said the APA suddenly took up the prison application last week at a meeting, even though the
matter was not on the agency's agenda. Although the APA says it will need more information about the
plan, the matter has been assigned to one of the agency's directors for review.
"This is the weakest application for a major project we have ever seen in the Adirondacks," Burke said.
"And yet the APA acted within 10 minutes to advance the application."
A proposed private development would be treated more critically by the APA, and a study of other sites
would be demanded by the agency, according to the environmentalists.

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John Stouffer, the Sierra Club's legislative director in Albany, said bulldozers have already been at work
on the Tupper Lake site that the state Department of Correctional Services prefers for the prison, even
though the state has received no go-ahead.
"It appears that the department of corrections had adopted a bulldoze-first, do-an-environmental-review
-second policy," Stouffer said.
A spokesman for the prison system said the state intends to follow the steps the APA requires in
reviewing a major project in the Adirondack Park.
James Flateau said the only special consideration prison officials have asked for is that the review be
expedited because of crowding in existing state prisons. As of Wednesday, state prisons were at 130
percent of capacity and there were 2,200 other prisoners in local jails who courts say should have been
transferred by now to state prisons, Flateau said.
The $130 million prison project will take 18 months to complete, according to state estimates.
"We are expecting that the APA will do its normal review, and that that review will be based on whether
or not the project meets the rules and regulations of the agency," Flateau said. "It is not a political
plebiscite on a prison that some might want to see built elsewhere."
While focusing on the Tupper Lake site, prison officials are also going to review at least six other
possible sites for the prison which are still in Franklin County, but outside the boundary of the
Adirondack Park. When authorizing the prison this summer, the state legislature required only that it be
in Franklin County.
Flateau said bulldozers have been working at the Tupper Lake site, but only to identify boundaries and
wetlands. No preparatory work has been done yet, he said.
Back to the Titles

Error in dental coverage

An officer at our facility asked me to post this. Between November of 96 and June of 97 about 75
officers had transferred in. Little did they know for some reason their individual and family dental
insurance had been cancelled. It was later found out this past month that someone in civil service was
responsible for the screw up. He was also told by Albany that this was reported by members at many
facilities. If any of you know anyone that transferred during this period and has not used their dental plan
to check thing out.
Tom
Back to the Titles

Some Bills to look at

A05794 Prohibits the replacement of N.Y. city correction officers by private guards
A06035 Enacts provisions to promote drug-free workplaces within government through fair and
reasonable drug testing

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A06176 Authorizes employees to use sick leave to care for sick children or parents
A06599 Requires victims of crimes involving a risk of transmission of a serious disease to be offered
free counseling and medical treatment
A07977 Protects employees against retaliatory action by employers
S01130 Authorizes the attorney general to provide defense to state employees in a criminal matter where
charges arise from entry onto private land required by employment
S01671 Protects employees against retaliatory action by employers
S01672 Protects employees against retaliatory action by employers
S04004 Relates to the powers and duties of enforcement officers
S05201 Establishes a prison industries enhancement program
Back to the Titles

Privatization Theory
Our Theory is that with all the stalling and bullshit going on and with the introduction of
anti-privatization state legislation for New York City Corrections the ASACTSC and Minimum Camps
will be privatized in New York State. There is no doubt about it.
Let us review the basis for our concern
1) we have been fighting for years against privatization asking legislators especially the republican senate
for legislation, they say they support anti-privatization legislation yet we don't have a bill,
2) Now we find out another bill A05794 is introduced by the assembly to outlaw any privatization in
NYC against the Correction Officers in City Corrections,
3) then this past September the Governor sign s a bill into law outlawing privatization in his home county
to protect Correction Officers there,
4) then there is a change in section 70 of Correction Law from facilities no longer being classified as
Correctional Facilities but Drug Treatment Center D.T.C..
5) We have this false promise of an M.O.U. memo of understanding against privatization that we have
never seen and probably never will. It's time to wake up and smell the roses. Any form of privatization in
this state and the union will simply not be able to govern and not be tolerated.
We really hope we are wrong and embarassed with our theory, but we'd rather take a little egg on the
face than to allow what is about to happen.
However we absolutely 100% stand by this theory.
Tom "THE DEFENDER OF REAL TRUTH" (ACOAP)
Back to the Titles

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Nationwide gang linked to crimes in region

Colonie-- Police say that although Latin Kings' local presence is minor, they have made inroads
EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Staff writer
In June, three men chased down and slashed a teenager on Hamilton Hill in Schenectady. In August,
masked men barged into rooms at a Colonie motel, brandishing pistols, pulling the wedding rings off the
fingers of men and putting pillowcases over the heads of children. And last month, a man stabbed
another motorist after a fender bender outside a Colonie hotel. According to police, there is a common
denominator in the three incidents: the Latin Kings. The nationwide gang is making inroads in the
Capital Region, local police say. Its presence remains far smaller than in cities such as Hartford, Conn.;
Providence, R.I.; and Springfield, Mass., but police fear they may be detecting early signs of Latin King
activity here.
"A lot of people think this is a big-city problem,'' said Lt. Steven Heider of the Colonie Police
Department. "But 90 miles away, Springfield has significant gang activity and Holyoke is a nice little
community with gangs. Based on their experience, we know we're not immune and take an aggressive
approach whenever we see anything resembling gang activity.''
To keep the presence from growing, Capital Region police say they are sharing information and
remaining vigilant. They estimate that there are now between 15 and 75 Latin Kings in Schenectady, and
another 20 or more in the Albany-Troy area.
"Three years ago, we were where Springfield had been three years before that,'' said Patrick Smith,
assistant chief of the Schenectady Police Department. "But it seems to have stagnated. The process is
taking longer here.''
Police say the gang hasn't grown faster because the concentrations of Hispanics are not as high as in
some other communities, and also that unemployment rates are not as high. Police also credit aggressive
crackdowns on drug dealing.
But they say local jails and prisons serve as a recruiting ground, and people moving into the community
sometimes bring along gang affiliations.
Latin Kings have been recruiting members in Schenectady schools for at least three years, Smith said.
"We went to the school district in 1994 and said, 'Be prepared: Once they are here, they recruit in high
schools,' '' the chief said. "But we found we were six months too late.'' Since then, the number of Latin
Kings in the Capital Region has ebbed and flowed, Smith said. Schenectady has two factions -- one from
New York City and one from Hartford, Conn.; the Albany-Troy area has a New York City faction, he
said.
Other national gangs, such as the Bloods and Crips, have fewer members in the region than the Latin
Kings, police said. The area also contains local gangs such as Albany's Orange Street Boys and
Schenectady's Mad Mob, but some consider the national gangs a greater concern.
"They're larger, better organized and they fit the idea of what the public thinks of as a gang,'' Albany
Detective P.J. McKenna said. "They act together and they send 'tithings' back to New York City like the

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Mob. A lot make money through criminal enterprises -- not just drugs, but stickups.'' As local police
worry about the emergence of Latin Kings here, experts disagree over what sort of danger they represent.
In New York City, Latin King leaders are trying to recast the group -- from violent street gang to positive
street organization -- as they emphasize helping the homeless, protesting police brutality and building
cultural pride.
David C. Brotherton, a sociology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan,
predicted that Latin King leaders in New York City will frown upon the crimes that local members are
accused of committing.
Brotherton, who stays in contact with the leaders, said the group has changed in the last few years under
the direction of a new charismatic "Inca,'' Antonio Fernandez, known as King Tone. The new leaders are
trying to curb the violence, he said. For example, members of a new gang recently shot two Latin Kings;
rather than retaliating, about 500 Kings staged a peace rally in response, the professor states in a lecture
he plans to deliver Oct. 28.
But others call the new focus a farce.
Edwin J. Delattre, a professor of education and philosophy at Boston University, said the Latin Kings try
to convince people that they are harmless when they are trying to establish themselves in a new area.
"They use deception to gain a foothold in a city, to recruit local members,'' but their real agenda ranges
from drug trafficking to extortion to robbery, he said.
In the Capital Region, the Latin Kings are becoming better known for committing crimes than
community activism. "That's the official spin of the Latin Kings: This is Latin pride,'' Lt. Heider said.
"But I can give them four or five examples of falling off the pride train.''
The most terrifying example took place at the Super 8 motel on Troy-Schenectady Road in Colonie Aug.
5. According to Investigator Michael Ruede of the Colonie Police Department, four men entered the
motel at about 10 p.m. wearing gloves and stocking masks. They not only stole from the motel, they
forced an employee to open the doors of hotel rooms.
Among those robbed was a mother and her two daughters, ages 15 and 9, and her 16-year-old nephew.
The nephew had visited the family in Saranac, Clinton County, for the summer and was to fly out of
Albany Airport for Florida the next morning, Ruede said.
"The only thing I looked at were two big shiny silver guns,'' the woman later told police. "They were
telling us to get on the floor.''
She heard the rip of tape coming off a roll; the men were tying up the children with duct tape and putting
pillowcases on their heads. They stole $100 in cash and a credit card, then tied up the woman with
shoelaces from one of her daughter's shoes, Ruede said.
Police charged two men with the Super 8 robbery: 27-year-old William Lind (also known as King Will),
who gave a Troy address; and 26-year-old Jorge L. Gonzalez (King Chachi), who gave a Schenectady
address. Police are trying to identify the other two.
Lind also was charged in a June 30 robbery at the Friendly Restaurant on Wolf Road. The break in both
cases came when robbers hit the same Friendly's again Sept. 28. Lind, Gonzalez and Jose L. Colon -- a

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23-year-old Watervliet man described by police as a Latin King "wannabe'' -- were later charged in the
robbery, police said.
Another man identified as a Latin King -- Juan Irizarry (King Johnny), a 32-year-old from Albany -- was
charged in a Sept. 7 stabbing. A Schenectady man was stabbed twice following a traffic accident outside
the Holiday Inn Turf hotel on Wolf Road, police said.
Schenectady police say Latin Kings chased down an 18-year-old and slashed him across the chest June
25. The teenager had filed a complaint against the relative of a Latin King, and the slashing was
retaliation, police said. No arrest has been made.
Lind, Gonzalez, Colon and Irizarry declined requests for interviews at Albany County jail. Police said
they believe Lind is among the local leaders.
First published on Thursday, October 23, 1997
Back to the Titles

Victim Information & Notification

The Associated Press
By TOM HAYS
NEW YORK (AP) - Victims of violent crime may sleep a little easier thanks to a new pilot program that
automatically notifies them within hours of their assailant's release.
The computer tracking system - called Victim Information & Notification Everyday, or VINE - features a
24-hour hot line for registered victims who wish to track an inmate's passage through the criminal justice
system.
Victims can also receive a computerized telephone warning minutes after the offender posts bond,
escapes or is released from custody.
About 15 New Yorkers have already registered for the computer notification service since it was
unveiled two weeks ago, according to Michael Jacobson, the city's corrections commissioner.
``The idea is, give victims peace of mind,'' Jacobson said.
While an inmate's status is public information, victims complain they must often make repeated phone
calls to numerous agencies.
``It was very, very difficult for (victims) to get anybody on the phone to give them answers, '' said Anne
Swern, an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn.
Twenty-four other jurisdictions - including those in Texas, California and New Jersey - have set up
similar systems, said Juliette Grace, a spokeswoman for VINE company, based in Louisville, Ky.
Most of the people who have used the VINE system are victims of domestic violence, stalking or sex
crimes, officials said.
Victim advocates praised the system, noting that violent offenders often return to harass their victims

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upon their release.

The three-year, $900,000 contract with the New York City Department of Correction - which processes
about 135,000 inmates each year - is the largest project to date, Grace said.
``The most important information we can offer is whether we have the inmate or not,'' Jacobson said
Monday, adding that some victims have already received the automated warnings.
VINE is expected to offer information on arraignments, trials, bail hearings and probation.
Kentucky's Jefferson County launched the country's first victim notification program after a woman was
slain in 1993 by a man who had been convicted of raping her. Authorities allegedly never notified her
that he had been released from prison.
AP-NY-10-20-97 1939EDT
Back to the Titles

McCall Retirement Proposal

*******************************************************************
Law Enforcement Officers Union Council 82
HOLLIS V. CHASE BUILDING
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES AFLCIO
63 COLVIN AVENUE, ALBANY, N.Y. 12206
(518) 489-8424 (518) 489-8430 FAX
TO: All Council 82 Local Presidents
FROM: President Richard S. Abrahamson
DATE: October 17, 1997
RE: Comptroller McCall's Proposed Retirement Benefits Package
Attached for your review is the latest proposal by Comptroller H. Carl McCall for Performance COLA.
This proposal, though better than the Comptroller's original one, still needs improvement. If you have
any comments or suggestions for improving this latest Performance COLA proposal, you may forward
them to either myself or John D'Alessandro.
Attachment
cc: Executive Committee
Staff Representatives
John D'Alessandro
RSA/law
##################################################################

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NEWS
From the Office of the New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall '
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Steven Greenberg
(518) 474-4015
September 16, 1997
McCall Unveils Proposed Public Employees Retirement Benefits Package
State Comptroller H. Carl McCall today unveiled a package of reforms which promise to strengthen
retirement security for New York's public employees. McCall, sole trustee for the 880,000-member New
York State and Local Retirement Systems, presented his proposal today at the Comptroller's Advisory
Council for the Retirement Systems.
"Every day I hear from retirees who are having financial difficulty," McCall said. "People who have
worked hard for the public over their lifetimes deserve a fair and secure retirement.
McCall's plan provides retirees with a pension increase based on the performance of the Common
Retirement Fund, a proposal which was introduced but not enacted in the Legislature in 1997. The
Comptroller's proposal also includes provisions to improve benefits for Retirement Systems members
who began working after 1976 (Tiers 3 and 4), decrease the required time for vesting from 10 years to
five years, and provide a death benefit for vested members who leave public employment.
In addition, McCall proposed an incentive program for public employees to participate in the Deferred
Compensation programs with an employer match of up to $25 per month for employees who enroll.
Participating in the State's Deferred Compensation plan is optional for local government employers.
"I've talked for years about the need for each of us to take a broad approach in planning for our own
retirement," McCall said. 'In the same vein, public employers must take the same comprehensive view in
developing the system to benefit retirees of public service. We have a great opportunity now. Because the
Common Retirement Fund has achieved outstanding investment returns over the past few years, we can
now make benefits fairer and more uniform, while still keeping costs to a minimum.
"The costs for providing these benefits are already among the lowest in the country and will remain
among the lowest in the country after these programs are enacted," McCall said.
"A crucial component of the package is my proposed Deferred Compensation incentive program,"
McCall said. 'Personal savings, along with pensions and Social Security, make up the three-legged stool
of retirement. Deferred Compensation is an ideal way to help people increase personal savings and take
more control over their retirement years. New York's participation in this program is now under 30
percent. We can do better."
Albany Phone: (518) 474-4015 Fax: (518)473-8940
NYC Phone: (212) 68148211 Fax: (212) 681-4468
Internet:http://www.osc.state.ny.us
E-Mail: press@osc.state.ny.us

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##################################################################
Comptroller McCall's Proposed Retirement Benefit Package
Performance COLA (Cost of living adjustment)
* When five-year market return exceeds 10 percent, the first .5 percent above that level would fund an
increase of up to three percent for retirees that would stay with them for life.
* If the return exceeds 12 percent, the next .25 percent would go to a reserve fund to pay retiree COLA's
in years when the return does not hit the lO-percent trigger.
* Had this COLA been in effect, retirees would have received increases in each of the last 12 years, even
as employers would have seen continuous reductions in retirement costs over the same period.
Equalizing benefits for Tiers 3 and 4
* Equalizes the benefits of more than 430,000 Tier 3 and 4 employees and retirees (those who joined the
Retirement Systems after July, 1976) with those of Tier 2 members, although Tier 3 and 4 employees
will continue to make contributions to their retirement.
* This change would allow a Tier 3 or 4 employee to receive a benefit of 2 percent of their final average
salary per year of service at 20 years rather than the current 25 years.
* Lessens the reduction of benefits when employees retire between ages 55 and 62.
Five-year Vesting
* Conforms with federal vesting standards of private sector employers and provides employees with
more career flexibility.
Death Benefit
* Provides death benefit for Retirement Systems members who have vested but are no longer in public
employment.
Deferred Compensation Incentive Plan
* Provides an employer match of up to $25 per month ($300 per year) for participating employers when
employees enroll in the Deferred Compensation plan, providing savings of more than $60,000 over a
30-year career for employees who contribute $25 per month.
* In Missouri, participation in Deferred Compensation increased to 57.5 percent from 28.7 percent when
a similar plan was enacted.
* New York's participation in Deferred Compensation is 27 percent.
Cost to Employers
* Rates for employers would be expected to increase from the current 1.7 percent of payroll to just above
mree percent of payroll for the Employees.Rebrement Systems, far below both the six percent
contribution rate projected just three years ago, as well as historical levels
Back to the Titles

Southport Correctional officers assaulted by inmates

Emira Star Gazette
SOUTHPORT -- Inmate disturbances continued at Southport Correctional Facility Friday, a day after
angry inmates assaulted three correction officers.

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Most of the trouble is being blamed on prison gangs, said Daniel Morgan, president of Council 82, Local
3544, the 268-member officer's union.
One officer was kicked in the head and another officer was punched in the mouth, and two razors were
taken from an inmate during the disturbances, said Morgan.
Also Thursday, negotiators spent 5.5 hours convincing 14 inmates to leave the outside exercise pens and
return to their cells, said Morgan.
"It's all gang-related," Morgan said during a 3 p.m. press conference outside the all-solitary confinement
prison in Southport. "They assaulted the officers because that's how they get into the gangs. It's their
initiation.
"It's a situation we've always felt the state has had its head in the sand about," he said. "The state has to
act on it and act fast to control it."
James Flateau, state department of corrections spokesman, said Council 82 has "had a knee-jerk reaction
that everything is gangs for at least the last four months." He said that by blaming every problem on
gangs, the union is giving status to what is only a small number of gang members.
Jim Pfiffer
Back to the Titles

The following is an article printed in the Elmira "Star-Gazette" on 11/1/97 by Jim Pfiffer.

"PRISON VIOLENCE BLAMED ON GANGS"

"ATTACK ON SOUTHPORT OFFICERS WAS PART OF INITIATION,
UNION SAYS"
A prison union is blaming gang-related activity for assaults on three officers at the Southport
Correctional Facility on Thursday, and said some minor distubances continued on Friday.
One correction officer was kicked in the head and another was punched in the mouth, and two razors
were taken from an inmate during Thursday's disturbances, said Daniel Morgan, president of the
268-member officer's union at Southport known as Council 82, Local 3544.
"It's all gang related," Morgan saidFriday afternoonoutside the nearly all-solitary prison. "They assaulted
the officers because that's how they get into the gangs. It's their initiation.
"It's a situation we've always felt the state has had its head in the sand about," Morgan said. " The state
has to act on it and act fast to control it."
A state official disagreed, saying Friday that there are only a small number of gang members and that by
Council 82 blaming everything ongangs, it gives the gangs more status.
"Council 82 doesn't consider the safety of their employees when they blame every incident on gangs
whether it's gangs or not," said James Flateau, state Department of Correctional Services spokesman. "It
could be payback. It could be extortion. It could be lots of things other than gang activity."

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The two officers injured Thursday morning were treated at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, Elmira, then
released. In a later incident that day, an inmate punched a third officer in the face.
Morgan said the punching incident could have been prevented if the prison's adminisration had agreed to
suspend the exercise program Thursday as Morgan requested after the disturbances began.
Southport adminisration officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
On Friday, an inmate stabbed an officer in the hand with a pen--Morgan didn't know if it was gang
related---and another inmate elbowed an officer, who wasn't hurt, Morgan said.
Southport's 900 prisoner's, considered the worst in the state system, are locked in theicells 23 hours a day
and let out---handcuffed--for one hour exercise in outside pens.
The trouble began at 8:50 a.m. Thursday when an officer frisked an inmate going to exercise and found
two razors in his pocket, Morgan said. That inmate struggled and was subdued, and so was another
inmate who tried to intervene, Morgan said.
A short time later, as another group of inmates was returning from exercise, a handcuffed inmate jumped
up and kicked an officer in the head, Morgan said.
"The officer was standing at his post and the inmate does a Bruce Lee, and 'Wham!' kicks the officer in
the face." Morgan said. " Down he goes and then the inmate doubles up his fist and hits the officer in the
head."
At 3:15 p.m. Thursday, as more inmats were about to be brought in from exercise, they begin gang
chants. "They're saying stuff like, "We are the BLOODS," "We are the Best," said Robert Lawsona
spokesman for the officer's union in Albany.
The inmates stopped chanting and one of them spit in an officers face, Morgan said.
As the officers began to remove the inmates from the 75-unit exercise pens, one inmate hit an officer in
the face, knocking in his teeth and cutting his lip, Morgan said. That inmate runs back inside the pen and
now about 30 inmates in the pen refuse to come in," Morgan said.
At 4:30 p.m., half the 30 inmates returned to their cells. An hour later, a prison crisis intervention team
began to negotiating with the remaining inmates and convinced them to return to their cells around 10:00
p.m., Morgan said.
On Friday, officers did a cell-by-cell search of A-block, where the trouble began. Atleast 84 of the
250cells were searchedMorgan said. He had not been told if any weapons or cotraband had been found.
Exercise was also discontinued in A-block on Friday, Morgan said.
Council 82 has asked the state to spend more time and money to train correction officers in how to deal
with gang members, but Lawson and Morgan said the union hasn't received the states answer.
Flateau said the state has already responded by providing gang training to correction officers.
"We have already provided gang training to more than 3,000 correction officers," Flateau said. It's a four
hour course. We've been giving it to all new recruits as they come in."

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Back to the Titles

Eastern inmate hangs self

Eastern inmate found hanging in cell
By KRISTEN SCHWEIZER Staff Writer
NAPANOCH _ The 25-year-old Eastern Correctional inmate who carjacked a Walden family this
summer and subsequently led police on a 73-mile chase, was found hanging in- side his special housing
cell early yesterday from an overhead air duct.
Eron Seeley, a Westchester County native, hanged himself with shoelaces and part of a sheet. He was
found by correction officers shortly after midnight hanging in a "blind spot" to the left of the cell door,
state prison officials said .
Seeley was facing 18 straight years in special housing for his role in the escape from a prison bus in late
July, and for slashing two correction officers several days later when they tried to remove a razor blade
and handcuff key Seeley had hidden in his rectum
Inmates in special housing units are confined in their cells 23 hours a day and let out only for one hour of
mandated recreation and legal, family/friend or medical visits.
Seeley's is the eighth suicide in the state prison system this year. The last, also a hanging, occurred earlier
this month at Attica Correctional Facility, in western New York. Absent any signs of suicide from an
inmate, said state prisons spokesman Mike Houston, the only precautions taken are cell checks every half
hour by correction officers. Inmates who show suicidal tendencies, he said, may be handled several
ways, he said, said as meeting with a counselor, a one-on- one watch or a transfer to the mental health
unit. Seeley was sent to state prison in 1993, sentenced to a 28 year term for charges including second
degree murder. More recently, he was indicted on charges in Orange and Sullivan County courts in the
escape and slashing of two correction officers.
In late July, en route from Downstate Correctional Facility in Dutchess County to Sullivan Correctional
Facility, Seeley escaped from a prison bus somewhere on Route 208 and fled on foot toward Walden.
There, he carjacked a woman and one of her two children. He proceeded alone in the car. After leading
police on a chase through Orange County and into Pike County, he was caught and hospitalized for
injuries. He was still wearing a waist chain, padlock and handcuffs. The next day, two correction officers
from Ulster Correctional were suspended without pay pending an investigation into how Seeley could
escape from the bus they had been manning without either one noticing. The officers were later
suspended for two months without pay. Three days later, Seeley slashed the correction officers while
they were searching him. He was then transferred to Eastern Correctional. There, twice in one day, he
threw feces at two correction officers. The last suicide at Eastern, also a hanging, was in 1994.

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